Mobile fab lab
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The mobile fab lab is a computer-controlled design and machining shop housed in a trailer. It was built in August 2007 by the Center for Bits and Atoms at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology[1]. The mobile lab includes the same computer controlled fabrication machines found in fab labs world-wide.
The custom cabinetry within the trailer is an example of the a lab producing a part of another lab. The cabinetry was CAD-designed and fabricated on a CNC wood router similar to the wood router in the trailer. The router in the trailer is capable of making another set of cabinets.
Two graffiti artists from the South Bronx, Dolge and Fred, painted the sides and top of the trailer in two weekends. Each designed one side of the trailer (Dolge the robot with laser and Fred the kids and lab) and Dolge also painted the logo on the roof.
The fab lab trailer is a 2007 Pace American Shadow GT Daytona dual axle (model SCX8528TA3). It is 32' long, 8' wide, and 7' high. The tailgate opens to add a 6' deck at the back of the trailer. The main entrance is a door on the passenger side towards the front. A 6.5' tall custom steel box covers most of the tongue. The lab requires a space approximately 60' long by 16' wide for operation as a lab.
The power requirements are 240V single phase with minimum 40A service. To run all the equipment in the lab at once (including AC and overhead lights) is about 20kW; to run only the 120V equipment is about 8kW.
The electrical connection to the lights and brakes are a 7-way plug. The electrical input for the trailer interior (ie, the fab lab equipment) is at the rear of the trailer on the driver's side. It is a male 100A 4-pin Hubbell connector. The trailer travels with a 50' cable with the female connector on one end and plain wire on the other end to tie into a building. Additionally, there is a generator cut-over box and cable to connect to a generator. (The trailer does not come equipped with a generator).
The trailer has a 2 5/16" ball receiver and a load distribution system (aka weight distributing tow hitch) with the clips are already mounted onto the trailer. There is a special draw bar with a 2 5/16" ball and the load bar attachment points that fits in a standard square hitch receiver on the towing truck. The trailer is rated for 10,000 lbs GVWR and has electric brakes. It is an "A-frame" style trailer (it is NOT a gooseneck or 5-wheel style trailer).
[edit] List of Equipment[2]
- (7) Dell GX620 computers and 17" LCD monitors. All computers are dual-boot Ubuntu and Windows XP.
- (1) LG flat panel wide screen monitor 32"(?)
- (1) Linksys SD2016 1GB router
- (1) Wireless 802.11(a/b/g) access point
- (1) Western Digital 1TB external hard drive
- (1) Epilog 24" x 12" laser cutter
- (1) Roland Modela MDX-20 Mini-mill
- (1) Roland CAMM-1 GX-24 wide vinyl cutter
- (1) Shopbot PRS 48" x 96" CNC wood router with high speed spindle
- (1) Grizzly 4HP dust extraction system (for wood router dust removal)
- (1) Purex HEPA filter (for laser cutter fumes removal)
- (1) HP OfficeJet 6210 All-In-One scanner, color inkjet printer, fax
- (1) 9" x 6" convection oven
- (1) Dustbuster
- (1) 1 gal shop vac
- (-) hand tools such as screwdrivers, pliers, clamps, etc.
- (1) Function Generator, 10 MHz DDS with Counter
- (1) Power Supply, Triple Output, DC, Digital, 30V, 3A
- (1) Digital Storage Oscilloscope, 150 MHz, Color
- (5) Digital Multimeter
- (1) Heat Gun
- (2) 50W soldering stations
- electronics parts: resistors, capacitors, chokes, diodes, transistors, regulators, LEDs, photodetectors, speakers and microphones, thermistors, op-amps, microcontrollers, resonators, buttons and switches, magnets, headers, jacks and plugs, ribbon cable and connectors, test clips, heat shrink tubing, solder/desolder, battery connections, batteries, motors, transducers, bell wire, magnet wire, blank PCB substrate.
[edit] Travel Log
- August 2007: Chicago, Illinois during the The Fourth International Fab Lab Forum and Symposium on Digital Fabrication
- August 2007: Road trip from Chicago to Nevada to Boston. Random people were invited to come inside the trailer and make things. This trip included short visits to Black Rock City, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and the Nebraska state fair.
- September 2007: Gadgetoff at the Liberty Science Center.
- October 2007 - current: South Bronx, New York. On loan to the Sustainable South Bronx to help build a permanent fab lab in the South Bronx.
[edit] External Links
- MIT Spotlight page on the mobile lab
- Tomas Diez's weblog of the August 2007 Chicago-Nevada-Boston trip]
- Pace American User's Guide for Trailer
